My paintings honor my refugee grandparents and parents who risked everything to offer future generations better opportunities. I have a complex family history of tragedy and triumph, which has instilled in me a sense of the fragile nature of life. I paint my ordinary daily life as vibrant, colorful, and patterned scenes to show gratitude for my existence. Most of my paintings are multi-paneled triptychs, alluding to the fact that my human experience certainly cannot fit neatly onto one canvas. I am a culturally mixed Uruguayan Korean Spanish American who grew up Catholic and is now raising Jewish children. As a child, I received many quizzical looks as individuals attempted to understand and piece together my varied, ethnic background. I recreate that same experience in my paintings by provoking the audience to find connections that pull the piece together.

Jennifer Lugris's work has been honored with numerous awards with exhibitions at distinguished institutions such as the Museum of Northern California Art; Sacramento State University; Merced College; and Art, Design & Architecture Museum. Lugris’ art isn’t just about painting—it’s about storytelling, healing, and community. In 2022, she received a National Endowment for the Arts grant to bring immigrant success stories to life through a colorful series of paintings. By 2024, she was one of just four artists invited to join the Memory Palace Movement, a powerful initiative funded in part by the California Arts Council that co-creates healing spaces with, for, and by survivors of sexual abuse. As part of this project, she was paired with a survivor and crafted a stunning 5 by 4 foot painting visually narrating their journey toward healing. Her paintings have found permanent homes in collections at the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Facebook, and UC Davis Health. Lugris earned her MFA from UC Santa Barbara and now lives in Sacramento, CA, where she enjoys life as an artist, wife, and mother to three young children.​
Curriculum Vitae

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